Referring to its own sources at Apple, Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reports that there are teams within the company exploring the development of personal robotics, which could potentially become one of Apple's next devices. Engineers from these teams have been looking into a mobile robot that could follow users around the home, and a desktop home device that uses robotics to move the display.
While the efforts are still in the early stages and their release is still uncertain, Apple is seeking new sources of revenue. In February, the company abandoned its electric car project, and it will take years for the mixed reality headsets to generate significant profits.
Through robotics, Apple could establish a presence in consumers' homes and benefit from advances in artificial intelligence. However, it is currently unclear how this will be implemented. Although a robotized smart display is farther along than a mobile bot, it has been added to and removed from the company's roadmap for many years.
The robotics are being developed within Apple's hardware engineering division and the artificial intelligence and machine learning group led by John Giannandrea. Matt Kostello and Brian Lynch, leaders focused on home products, are overseeing the hardware development. Apple has not yet committed to any project, and the work is still in the early stages of research.
Prior to the cancellation of the electric car project, Apple informed its top managers that the company's future revolved around three areas: automotive, home, and mixed reality. However, the car did not materialize, and the first mixed reality product, the Vision Pro headset, has already been released. Thus, the focus has shifted to other future opportunities.
The desktop robotics project first excited top Apple executives several years ago. The idea was for the display to track the movement of a person's head during a FaceTime session. It would also have features for accurately focusing on one person in a crowd during video calls.
However, the company was concerned about whether consumers would be willing to pay a high price for such a device. Technical issues also arose related to balancing the weight of the robotic motor on a compact stand. According to sources, the main obstacle was disagreements among Apple executives about whether it was worth developing this product at all.
Near its campus in Cupertino, California, Apple has a secret facility resembling the interior of a home - a place to test future home devices and technologies. Apple is exploring other ideas for this market, including a new home hub with a display similar to an iPad.
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